


The Wild Youth

by EnigmaticDrDre



Category: Wild Youth - Fandom
Genre: ALMOST Character Death, Borderline Personality Disorder, Depression, Drama, F/M, High School, High School Based, High school based universe, Hospitals, M/M, Mentions of Violence, Mentions of childhood abuse, Multi, Multi-relaionships, Overworked, Resolved Sexual Tension, Sexual Content, Sexual Tension, Situational Drama, Slice of Life, Teacher/Student romances, Unresolved Sexual Tension, Upsetting topics, Yes one of them has that and struggles with it, emotional tension, gay relationships, i'm not sure what to tag, mentions of mental disorders
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-07
Updated: 2016-06-02
Packaged: 2018-04-30 10:22:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 4
Words: 15,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5160236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/EnigmaticDrDre/pseuds/EnigmaticDrDre
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Fu-Han, Yulian, and Molly have been friends since they were children, promising to always be until Parental situations tear the trio apart. Through some manage of fate years later, the trio are suddenly brought back together. Now all they have to do is go back to the way things were, right? Wrong. So much more factors into their lives as these kids try to find their own paths to happiness. This is their story. The tale of the Wild Youth.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Parting is such sweet sorrow.

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Jay and Yuka](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Jay+and+Yuka).



“Yulian! Stop!” The brunette called hastily after his best friend. Said elder child was angrily approaching the popular new kid. When they had first come in, the new child had seemed sweet and rather energetic. Albeit the natural awkward and nervous air around her. She was set down gently and her father began chatting up the nearest teacher. Said feminine allowed the odd advances, being swept up in his vortex of a personality. His laugh echoed through the smaller room and was filled to the brim with heartiness. A sound that only rivaled a television on its highest volume setting. His name was something complex that didn’t process in the children’s minds. The most anyone could pick up from his rough New Yorker accent was that it began with ‘Al’. Or did it end in ‘Al’? Who knows really? It wasn’t his current object of concern. Yulian was. His backward personality made it difficult for him to assess situations and often ended with Yulian in trouble. The teacher turned heartily to the class, clapping a familiar rhythm to get everyone’s attention. Some of the other kids tried to mimic it but ended up trailing off completely. 

“Everyone! Hey! This is our newest student. Her name is Molly. Let’s give her a big Kids Town welcome!” The teacher was practically grinning from ear to ear. Molly’s father definitely had been buttering the woman up. Everyone smiled at Molly and a unison of hellos fell over the class. Molly simply waved a lightly tanned arm with an almost classic movie star smile accompanied by an equally stunning row of ivory colored teeth. Some kids got up and began to crowd her, asking simple questions all at once but she didn‘t seem overloaded. When this all had happened Yulian’s neutral face contorted into a distinct scowl and Fu-Han had let out an aggravated sigh. He should have known this would happen. Yulian had been his best friend since the first day they met. He would have guessed it was because he managed to chase the bullies who kept pulling his hair. Or maybe due to his intense intimidation tactics that added to his taller stature. Either way, everyone knew not to mess with him and by that extension knew not to mess with you.

“Oi!” Yulian’s voice came out sharp and clear despite the scarf around his neck.  
She turned, her red glasses placed high on her nose. Fu-han stood a good four footsteps away, sizing her up whilst they talked. This girl didn’t seem like that much of a threat. If anything she seemed like a cute blonde. Nothing too out of the ordinary for their little school and- “THUMP!” Fu-Han’s eyes went wide as he saw his friend knocked to the floor. The blonde-..Er…Molly. Her name is Molly. He should start using her name if she was that brave. Molly was standing over him with a glare and a raised fist. Mister Al immediately picked her, giving a strict lecture. Despite his tone, there was a wide grin painted on his face. It only took Fu a couple of seconds to realize that Yulian got punched by Molly and another two seconds to start bawling his little eyes out. He didn’t know how to handle the current situation. It was not often that someone would ever actually square up to the Russian kid and it was an even rarer occasion that they didn’t back down when he got right in their face. Many children have tried and failed miserably. Yulian still laid on the ground with what other would call a blank expression but Fu knew better. The slight widening of his heterochromatic eyes was the only telling of his shock. Yulian wasn’t the type to cry. But still that was surprising. Two attendants appeared out of almost nowhere. One of them helped up Yulian, offering him a lollipop and checking his nose for any bleeding or bruises. The other picked up Fu-Han, trying to calm him but he didn’t understand their words. What language were they speaking? It definitely couldn’t be English. It sounded like what his Mother spoke but different. It was in an odd rhythm-

“Soomeul gotdo chatji mot hae naneun piharyeogo aesseo. Bwado Geobu. Jocha hal eopneun negae…” 

“Wh-What? Do not? What..?” He covered his ears with his hands and shut his eyes as their words grew louder and louder until- His body shot up, breathing heavily from the shock of forcefully leaving his own subconscious. He glanced to the side as his speakers blared the Korean pop music. A loud groan resounded through the room right after and he flopped back into the extreme amount of decorative pillows littering his bed. Without even glancing to see the time, he knew it was 5am. He had to get up and get ready for school or he’d be late. Not like he ever actually was but still, he’d like to have the ample study time being early provided. Being a straight A student was not easy to keep up with when one had no time on their hands. On top of that, there was no way his little brother would in no way get up without a fight. His hand slaps down on the snooze button his crappy alarm, despite him reasoning with himself. Of course his hand missed and actually hit the off button but he wouldn’t notice that. Snooze was not usually on the daily memo for him but Fu deserves a treat of slumber every so often. What will five minutes do? He really needed it from not sleeping the previous two days. Well, consequences will come.   
“Just five more minutes…” He mumbled softly into his Rilakkuma pillows and closed his eyes. After about five minutes, he actually slipped back out of consciousness and into his dreamland.

Fu-Han stared at the back of his friend as they walked to the front of the building. He didn’t understand what was going on very well but he knew that Yulian had to leave just like Molly had barely a month ago. He didn’t understand then either but his Dad told him that it was ‘Grown Up’ problems and that he’d see Molly again some day. His Dad was always too hopeful as his Mommy put it but somehow that sentence helped him feel better. That didn’t mean he hadn’t shed tears as the little girl left them and waved to her. Yulian had silently stared the entire time, hiding behind his ushanka. Molly had waved to them from the car, it was clear she was going to cry but she kept that Hollywood like smile until she was well out of sight. Now he’s back to crying as they walked past the swing set on the side of the building for the older kids. He could almost see their trio laughing there like usual. Like it was another playtime right before the usual nap time activities where the grown ups would leave the room. All the memories they had together just seemed to little yet Fu felt as though he had known them for the entirety of his life. Like that one time Molly had fallen off the jungle gym and hit her head. She had fallen still for a good few minutes, causing a panic in the two boys but soon she had recovered from the shock and they all ended up laughing it off. Boy, did they miss the Canadian-American. She really lit up their trio and brought a spark that no one else could. 

Before he knew it, Fu-Han was at the front of their daycare. The bright yellow building was decorated haphazardly with child hand prints in a bright rainbow of colors. The Trio’s prints being in a far corner on the left. He could tell because they put a messy black circle of paint around it. The Chinese-Finn glanced at the Russian, wiping his tear stained cheeks. No tears right now. He repeated this mantra in his head over and over. When he finally glanced ahead there was a pair of dark grey pant legs in front of him, almost running into it. He couldn’t see the man’s face but Fu-Han knew him as Yulian’s Dad. In fact, if it weren’t for the one time he had seen the man’s face he would have thought he didn’t have one with how tall he was. A pair of pale hands reached down to retrieve his child but Yulian pouted and thrashed away, claiming that he could walk on his own. Clearly the child was was in no mood for the current situation he was being forced into. The large hands hesitated but gradually pulled away. The taller boy turned to the smaller, giving him a stern look.

“Be good, Fu-Han.” Yulian gave him a rough pat on his shoulder. Fu-Han simply wiped at his eyes again, giving a small nod in response. The Russian boy gave him a small salute and walked away towards his Dad’s car with his head held high. He only made it three-fourths of the way to the car before Fu got an idea and ran after him.

“Yulian! Yulian! Wait! Wait!” He called, arm reaching out for his departing best friend. Yulian paused, glancing behind him with a cocked eyebrow. Fu-Han stopped in front of the elder boy, grabbing his wrist which made him turn around fully. With some effort, Fu-Han slipped the bright red hair ribbon out of his tame little ponytail and held it out to Yulian. His eyes filled further with tears, threatening to fall but he managed to keep them in. No tears. Not right now. Yulian’s head only shifted slightly to the side in question. His little heterochromatic eyes narrowing in confusion. 

“Please…Do not forget Fu.” The Chinese-Finn carefully tied the ribbon around Yulian’s wrist and lowly bowed. A final sign of respect to the ’Captain’ of their little crew. The Russian just stared weirdly at the ribbon now tied on him then to his bowing best friend. When Fu-Han stood up straight he engulfing Yulian into a tight hug. He knew Yulian disliked affections such as this but he couldn’t help it. After a minute of him not reciprocating the affection, he began letting go but ended up not being able to do so. Mainly due to Yulian suddenly hugging him back with an equal if not greater tightness. If he didn’t know better, he thought he heard Yulian let out a small, pained sob. But he did know better and there was no way that Yulian would ever let someone see him cry like that. Let alone make any noise implying such. They stayed like this for a while until Yulian’s Dad said something in his odd language which made no sense to Fu-Han but whatever it was made Yulian let go. Fu-Han waved goodbye one last time and Yulian nodded for what was to be the last time. Yulian climbed into the car and his Father shut the door. When the child looked through the back windshield, he saw Yulian staring intensely at him. Yulian’s Dad climbed into the car and they drove off, leaving only a trail of smoke behind. Fu-Han kept planted to that very spot through it all and as soon as the car was out of site, Fu-Han finally let his held in feelings free. The tears in his eyes spilled out and rolled down his tiny cheeks as he began to sob. He was finally alone and he didn’t like it one bit. Something left him empty and heartbroken. He stayed in the parking lot for the rest of the day, sobbing his little eyes out. Even when he got picked up, he refused to leave as he clung to some unearthly hope that Yulian and Molly would come back. But they never did and despite his Dad’s reassurances, he knew he’d never see them again.


	2. We meet again, old friend.

“Fu-Han!” An odd voice pulled him out of his dreams once again. It was clearly out of place and Fu-Han couldn’t help the pang of annoyance at his slumber interruption. His body tensed slowly as he opened his eyes but was instantly met with a blinding light. The Chinese-Finn winced and shut his eyes reflexively. Why was there so much light in his room? Did Armo turn on his god forsaken light? It’s too early for this! He slowly sat up, cracking his back in the process of a stretch. His light brown eyes finally adjusted to sudden light change and found his younger brother standing next to him. His face painted with clear worry.

“A-Armo? What? Geez, kid. I’m up! I’m up!” The young Chinese-Finn hissed, sending a glare his brother‘s way.  
“You were…Nevermind. C’mon! We’re gonna be late!” Armo yelled.  
Fu-Han rolled his eyes, brushing his long dark brown locks away from his face, successfully getting his hand tangled in the mess. It was within that moment that he realized that the light within his room was coming from his open red curtains and then another few moments to realize that the kid had been the one to wake him up. Which was to say the least…uncharacteristic. Armo would sleep like a rock until around ten or eleven if not woken by Fu-Han at six. So it definitely shocked him. At least that was one thing he could check off his morning to do list. He was once again shocked when he fully looked at his brother’s appearance and found his school clothes rather than the normal pjs. Why was he dressed? How did he wake up that easy? What in the name of Buddha?  
“Haaa? Geez, kid. What time is it and what are dressed so early for?”  
“It’s not early. It’s 6:55.”  
“…Oh…WHAT?!” Fu screeched at the top of his lungs as he flung himself out of bed. This action sending a couple of miscellaneous pillows flying in all directions. He quickly picked up his clock, frustration evident on his face. 6:56 am. There was no snoozing done today. Holy fuck, he had made the wrong decision this morning. This is what he gets for being slack with himself. Five more minutes could’t hurt, huh?! Well, it’s going to make him late today! Fu-Han threw down the alarm clock, grabbing a black detangling brush off his dresser then ran it through his hair in a hurried motion.

“Did you eat already, Armo?”

“Yes! I even made your coffee.” His brother nodded quickly.

“Good. Go get your stuff and be quick about it. Give me five minutes and we’re leaving!” He yelled as he stumbled out into the hallway and into the bathroom. He flicked on the light switch and grabbed his washing cloth off the tiny rack, quickly wetting it. When he finally looked in the mirror, he let out a gasp. His eyes were bloodshot red and his cheeks tear stained. God, he looked horrid. It was probably due to that nightmare? But why was this resurfacing now of all times, he hadn’t had that nightmare since he was eight for crying out loud. The Chinese-Finn rolled his eyes once again for this morning and wiped his face off as well as brushing his teeth. Then he dashed back down the hall to his now empty bedroom to dress himself. Fu-Han brushed his hair to the side and quickly tied the end with one of his ribbons. Normal hair ties made his hair get tangled around them and usually ended up with him having to cut it out. A very painful experience for someone who cherished his long hair was told by his Mother to never cut it. An odd rule that has stuck with him even now. It took him only a few minutes to throw on his clothes. White long sleeved button up, Red tie, Black slacks, and dress shoes. A very ‘Dress for Success’ type of clothing that was oddly casual for him. He’s had to wear fancier for other occasions like work so he was comfortable wearing it all of the time. Fu finished dressing and dashed downstairs to grab his coffee which was conveniently already in his thermos. Thank you, Armo. He hastily locked the front door. Fu ran outside to their parking space and found Armo as well as his car keys inside his bright red car. Said car was already started up and ready to go without fail. Once again, Thank you Armo. Fu-Han jogged over to the door, jumping into the car and setting his thermos down in the cup holder. 

“Ready to go?” Fu-Han asked, glancing into the backseat through the rear-view mirror where his book bag was seated. Praise The Buddha. Thanks a million, Armo. He backed out of their space and onto the open road. As the clock hit 7:15, he had successfully arrived at Armo’s middle school that was up the road from his own school. Within a few moments of getting in the proper drop off area, he was giving the dirty blonde kid a loving head ruffle and a swift kick out the door. It wasn’t like he literally kicked him but one had to be forceful when it came to little Armo. He was a mischievous prankster who favored messing with his elder brother but today could not be that day. Fu-Han was not letting his attendance record fall because Armo felt like a Joker. The boy waved to his little brother and drove off towards his school. He had about 14 minutes to somehow make it into his class on time and get to his locker. It was certainly a race against time. One that he planned to win with his own cunning.

\--

Fu-Han stared blankly outside of the window next to his station. The sky was a beautiful bright azure and decorated with gorgeous, fluffy white clouds. This day seemed almost too perfect to be spent inside a dreary place like this. Too bad his job required him until way late in the evening or he’d be out actually having a life. Oh wait, he wouldn’t be able to still thanks to his parents previous decision of gross negligence. Which lead to his eventual emancipation during his freshman year and assisted to his granted guardianship over Armo during his sophomore year. All because his parents couldn’t settle their differences and his mother had decided to get pregnant by some random Englishman on a business trip. She was the cause of their family’s pain but honestly why should he care at this point? He had won the case. Fu-Han had won and done exactly as the judge told him to do. He had proven that he was a great guardian, keeping up with his and Armo’s grades, keeping up with a job to provide, as well as paying the rent. Basically living up to being with the standards of a young parent, which he didn’t mind. He loved his little brother so the sacrifice of his teenage life was not a problem. Not like he ever had one beforehand, right? So there was no real change. The only actual problem he had with taking care of Armo was his disorder he had developed through the chaos of his parents separation. According to the doctors, Armo had Borderline Personality Disorder. Fu had spent countless nights researching the mental illness only to find that it was no joke and was going to end up taking a toll on the smaller Finn‘s life if left untreated. He wouldn’t be able to function properly as a human being. Much less as a normal child. His diagnosis at the end of Fu-Han’s middle school years had fueled the emancipation fires. The boy was too young to be dealing with this. And even worse, the Doctors had suggested to start a regulated medication to which his parents had the audacity to agree! Fu-Han did not agree in the slightest and in the end, Armo now got therapy when his outbursts in mood would show outwardly. Those only coming once every month or so. It was much better than letting him be some over medicated druggie. Besides, the kid was happy now. Wasn’t that the main thing that mattered? 

Even after his parents managed to rekindle their romance and give it one last try, he didn’t go back to them. They offered everything they could now that they were both successful but he downright refused. Though he had worn thin one day and began accepting the money that was given to him but he only accepted it if he got to work like a normal person. Hence his current job at his Mother’s Chinese restaurant. Li’s Kitchen. Isn’t the name just darling? He tsked. It’s not like he ever really spent the money given to him because he was managing just fine on his own. All the money just ended up in Armo’s college fund. Art college was not inexpensive as we all know. And Armo wanted the best of the best which meant New York or California. Within America. Either way, he’d have to give up an arm and a leg to even get the boy through one year. But it was for his little brother’s happiness so it was worth it.

Though the additional job did put him in a position where he barely got sleep and had to rely soley on coffee to keep himself running. At least he knew how to blend it perfectly to his tastes due to his job of choice as a favorable coffee barista. The tips from people were unbelievable sometimes. At least they kept him and his little brother afloat. Fu-han dried his hands off on the towel next to the sink filled with now cleanly dishes and brushed his bangs from his forehead. His life at only sixteen, could you imagine, was not ideal for him. But he had to do what he had to do. He clicked off the headset inside his ears and pulled out his phone to check the time. 9:50 pm.

“…FOR THE LOVE OF BUDDHA!!” He screeched, struggling to get the apron off. How could he be so foolish?! Was this the annual ‘Fu-Han Must Be Late’ day? Why hadn’t he checked the time earlier? Armo must have gotten left alone outside by his new ‘Big Brother’ at this point! OH NO! Fu-Han rushed out the backdoor, yelling to his Mother that he was taking his one hour break. He threw the apron at her during the process and mad dashed out to his car, unlocking it. Within seconds, he was pulling a Tokyo Drift and zooming down the back roads to his brother’s middle school. In that time he skipped at least three different red lights due to the intensifying worry. What if Armo got kidnapped?! Oh, this was all his fault for not being more attentive! He was the worst guardian ever! He made a sharp left turn and prayed to whatever deities that his brother remained safe from harm.  
\--  
Armo sat quietly in his last period class, curiously eyeing the girl next to him. Well, not really her more like the fuzzy red pen that she had been writing with all throughout class. He wanted to know where she got it but he wasn’t exactly the smoothest person when it came to talking to people outside of his family. In fact, he was moderately shy during school days causing him not to have friends. Or at least, he thought that was the reason. The Finn reached out his hand to tap her shoulder right at the bell decided to ring. She glanced at him for a few seconds but ended up leaving before he could muster up the first syllable. Great. He groaned and began packing all of his supplies. Pens. Pencils. Stencils. Erasers. Notebooks. Birthday Plush. Camera-….Camera?

Armo ducked down, glancing around the inside of his desk finding nothing resembling his favored camera except for a fallen sticker. And strangely something else..? Ew!! A bandaid?! Who leaves a nasty used bandaid when they steal someone’s camera-…CHUCK!! His hazel eyes narrowed dangerously as his teeth ground together. THAT LITTLE CREEP! He’s going to pay for this. The Chinese-Finn grabbed his bag about to rush out of the classroom after the other boy but was interrupted by the teacher. She frowned at him with an expectant look as if he would somehow apologize to her about leaving. Like actually Hell he was.

“Yes..Ma’am?” The latter part coming out forced from behind his gritted teeth.

“Your new big sibling is coming to get you soon. You may not leave until he or she arrives.” Her green eyes narrowed as she pointed back at his desk.

Armo grumbled loudly, making a mental reminder to attack Chuck as soon as he got outside. Luckily for him the idiot was also in this program so he could easily let out his revenge. The freckled boy took a seat at his desk, proceeding to draw light sketches on his desk until his teacher called his name with another aggravated warning. It took about half an hour for his new mentor to arrive and boy did he. The door had suddenly opened with unnecessary amounts of brute force and in stepped an oddly pale teenager about his brother’s age. His hair was pure white being barely hidden beneath his hat and his eyes were mix-matched blue. Woah, he looked so incredibly cool!! Like something off of tumblr. Armo smiled, jumping up to greet this new person in his life.

“You must be Mister…Yu…Yuli…Julian Bari…? Mister Julian B.?” His teacher beat him to the punch easily.

“Nyet. I am Yulian Barinov. Not ‘Julian’.” The elder scoffed with a thick accent which Armo deemed European. He was suddenly glad that his Dad was from Finland as well as having such a thick speaking accent.

“Hallo Yulian! I’m Armo!” The smaller boy chimed in, approaching the much taller male.

Yulian simply glanced at him for a while, cocking a pale eyebrow. He almost seemed surprised by how Armo appeared. Maybe someone had told Yulian about his last incident with his ‘Big Sister’ which ended up with that poor girl seeking therapy and refusing to be around the small Finn ever again. Although there was no physically proof of his crime against her, he had still been reassigned to yet another big sibling. Which he was getting sick of. If he wanted to get passed off between people he would have just told Fu-Han to let him stay in his parent’s house. 

“So, little one.” The Russian man began, glaring down almost menacingly, “What game do you wish to play?”

\--

Armo grinned at Chuck who was sobbing profusely as he was rushed into an ambulance a few feet away, clutching his arm. Now maybe he’ll learn not to steal people’s things. Yulian hadn’t allowed him to go outside until the sun was about setting and it had been his luck that as he went outside that Chuck was still there. Oh, he hadn’t forgotten the atrocity the idiot had committed against him. Taking his camera was not something he allowed and boy had he taught the little annoyance. When he found him, Chuck had been taking pictures with his camera on top of the jungle gym and if the original offense had not pissed him off, that had. Armo had climbed carefully up the side of the play bars and threatened Chuck in an attempt to get the beloved digital camera back. He refused to give it back so Armo repaid him by snatching his camera and pushing the other kid off the bars with only the utterance of; “Mine.”

Now he was sitting quietly next to Yulian as the other scolded him for being an idiot. ‘Don’t let someone see you push him off the bars! It’s sloppy!’ And so on and so forth. It’s not like he wanted to push the kid off the bars but he deserved it! Yulian sighed, rubbing his nose bridge in irritation which made Armo falter. It had taken Yulian about two hours of their playtime to convince (scare) the family into not pressing charges against an eleven year old. Ironically, because of his height, they thought Armo was much elder. Upon finding out his age, they allowed the potential charges to be dropped and deemed their rough housing to be ‘boys being boys’. That wasn’t a good excuse to the tiny Finn but it had saved his behind in the end. Now all he had to do is tell Fu-Han that he acted out again. His brother wasn’t going to be happy about that in the slightest. He’d have to revisit that stupid anger management doctor and even worse, he’d be abandoned by yet another big sibling. Ugh, he was going to be kicked out the program for sure! Stupid! Stupid! Stupid!

“Yuli?”

“Child for the thirteenth time, it is Yulian. Not Yuli.” The elder hissed, clearly pouting.

“Are you going to leave me too?” Armo held his little camera, shifting in his hands. He tried to inspect every aspect to make sure it wasn’t broken in the slightest. Otherwise Chuck’s future was going to hold more than a broken arm.  
“Leave you?”

“Yuli’s going to stay as Armo’s big brother?”

“Child, it is ‘my’. And I plan to stay. You are good child.” He crossed his arms, sitting on the bench near the parking lot. 

“Oh, good.” Armo looked shocked, staring at the elder boy for a couple moments. He got settled on the bench, bringing his legs up onto it in a crossed fashion. No other of his big siblings ever stayed for more than the first day because Armo usually got in some form of trouble. But thank his lucky stars he seemed to have gotten someone who is nice. Albeit Yulian being majorly stoic and scary beyond reason to all people. Except you, that is. You thought he was great. Beautiful even in his appearance seeming like almost an angel. The little Finn gasped lightly. That’s exactly what he was! Yulian’s like his Guardian Angel! Even if he was a little mean, people feared angels and they were seen as gorgeous creatures. Yulian fit all of the criteria! He grinned and held up his camera, taking a quick picture of Yulian who was adjusting his strange winter hat. The flash went off and he got a near perfect photo. It was blurry on the edges but that was computer fixable.

“What in HELL, child?!” The elder yelped, covering his heterochromatic blue eyes.

“I took a picture!” Armo said, tilting his head to the side. Why had Yulian reacted like that? It was just a picture? Maybe it was some form of weakness? Was it the exposure? What was wrong?

“Yes! But the flash was on! I can not handle the flash, child! My eyes are light sensitive!” He kept them covered, hoping they would adjust quickly and the headache would disappear.

“O-Oh…Sorry..” Armo frowned, holding tighter to his camera. The picture still showing on the screen. Yulian just continued to rub his eyes. The Finn made a mental note that his angel was sensitive to bright lights. No wonder he didn’t want to play outside when they first met. The sun had been bright and up in the sky. No doubt it would have blinded his new playmate. Next time, he’d have to not use flash and adjust the settings. After things managed to settle down, Armo began to realize that his brother was running late. It was never this dark when Fu-Han would usually pick him up. Nowhere near this dark.

“So..child. What time does your parent come to get you?” Yulian finally asked, which only confirmed Armo’s suspicions of how late it was.

“No parents. Just my brother.” He spoke quickly, turning off his camera after checking that the photo was saved.

“Your brat-..erm..brother? When does he usually get here?”

“He’s usually here around eight or nine.” Armo furrowed his eyebrows in thought.

“Child..” Yulian began.

“Huh?”

“It is 10:05.” The elder scoffed, checking the watch on his wrist. Great, it was going to end up with them being here all night at this rate. Armo hoped he didn’t mind sitting out here. All the same, he could leave whenever he pleased. But the Finn would have to stay here until his brother would pick him up. What if he never did come back because he didn’t want the burden anymore? Armo began tearing up right as he heard a familiar skid of tires and the pungent odor of burnt rubber hit his nose. He knew exactly who it was, burying his insecurities almost instantly. Fu-Han! The red car skid to a stop in front of them and the headlights dimmed as it turned off.

“Big brother!” Armo shot up off the bench towards the car but was stopped by Yulian. Just in case this person proved to be as dangerous as their driving skills. The car was put in park and a long ebony haired person stepped out, brushing down said locks with their fingers. Armo just smiled brightly, squirming past Yulian and over to embrace his brother. He almost thought Fu had forgotten him. Almost. Fu-Han smiled brightly at his brother, hugging his middle. The elder boy embraced him, apologizing in the traditional Chinese and ruffling his curly head. 

“Oh! I am so sorry, kid. I lost track of the time.” He apologized once again after letting him go.

“It’s okay! I had fun! My new big brother is very cool!” Armo said.

“New big brother? You got one already? It usually takes longer, right?” Fu-Han slowly glanced up and met the cold blue eyes of a slightly taller male. He had a strange feeling that this person, whoever he was, didn’t like him. It was just a guess but that stare left him incredibly uneasy. Maybe it was because it felt so familiar in aura? He really couldn’t tell if he wanted to. After a moment he slowly stood properly, approaching the strange man with… Was that white hair? Well, isn’t that odd? Was this some type of weird dye job for the punk clad teenager? Honestly, he appeared way out of place against the grounds of a middle school. Let alone being a ’Big Sibling.’ Some odd punk teenager..who knows what he would be teaching Armo. 

“You are his new big brother?”

“Da. And you must be his big sister.” The Russian snipped. 

“Well ye-..Excuse me??” Fu-Han instantly put his hands on his hips. Did this strange man just call him a woman? Not that being a woman was bad but Fu-Han was so sick of people misgendering him when he was clearly a male. For the Buddha’s sake, didn’t the voice tip anyone off of his masculinity? It was deep enough as it was!

“You did not hear me? Do you have lint in your ears, MISS?” The other scoffed, crossing his arms.

“First off, I am a BOY. Second, you better apologize quick you irresponsible delinquent!” Fu-Han stepped up into his face, teeth gritted in anger. He’ll be damned if some random punk calls him a girl. Upon a further inspection of their close proximity, Fu got to see his oddly white eyelashes. How did he get those white? Wasn’t that near impossible to do? The other thing he noticed was the odd thickness of the punk’s eyebrows. Those things looked like furry caterpillars! 

“I do not fear one who shows up late. Talk about being irresponsible, da?” His voice was monotone yet teasing in the worst way. Indeed only achieving in rubbing Fu-Han more in the wrong way.

“Why you little-”

“Fu! We have to go home! I’m hungry! Fu-Han!!” Armo yelled, wedging himself between the two boys in an attempt to stop any oncoming violence.

“Huh?” He glanced down at the younger Finn, “Oh. Yes, let’s go. Get in the car.”

Armo let out a sigh of relief when Fu-Han began backing down from his previous angered state. He quickly gave Yulian’s middle a hug and then began pushing his brother towards his car. As much as a five foot five twelve year old could to his six foot tall brother. Fu just tried to swat him away as he was already heading out.

“Chto? Wait. Your name is Fu-Han?” The Russian hurried after him, gripping his thinner wrist.

“Yea. So? Why does it matter, delinquent?” Fu-Han snapped, ripping his wrist out of grasp.

“You are not recognizing me, are you?” The punk clad lad huffed.

“NO. Should I be?”

“One would think you would remember your childhood best friend.” His stare seemed to get even more intense as the seconds past. The aura around him becoming almost choking.

“Childhood best friend? You are not him.” Fu-Han scoffed. 

There was no way that this person was Yulian. No way. Well, sure he did have that odd air about him and the almost token stoic behavior but that wasn’t all Yulian had. Yulian had been a blond haired blue eyed Russian boy not some odd punk teenager. This wasn’t his old best friend. There was literally no way in Hell. The last he had heard of Yulian was that his entire family had fled to Russia with no thought of ever returning to Canada. Then again, that was exactly what his parents said when they moved to Finland but look where he was. Nothing was impossible but there was no way that Yulian would ever end up like this, right. He glanced back at the taller male but only found his wrist inches from his face. What the fuck?! Why was he showing him this? Was this punk trying to start a fight with him again-…Hold on. What is that? His vision narrowed in on a bright red ribbon tied neatly around the paler’s wrist. Sprawled in chicken scratch, faded black ink was his name in Chinese. But that’s impossible. He hasn’t written his name on his ribbons since he was five nor did he even use that brand of ribbon anymore. The only time he ever used that brand was back in Kids Town and the only person he ever gave a ribbon to was… His memory shot back to his dreams earlier that day and it hit him all like a freight train. Fate was a cruel Mistress, wasn’t she?

“Oh shit.” Fu-Han let the curse slip through his lips as he locked his hazel orbs with Yulian’s bright blue ones.

“Da. We meet again, old friend.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reviews make me happy! I hope this makes up for the first chapter not being up to par.


	3. Teen Dramas

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well, isn't a bunch of-

.To say that Yulian was pissed, would have been the most massive understatement of the 21st century. In fact, one could almost say that Yulian was bellicose, aggravated, and generally “cheesed off”. That’s what Americans would say right? Well, for once the albino male was not be in the wrong for being angry. Though, most of the time it isn’t warranted simply because he is easily angered and generally ill-tempered. He just witnessed his long lost best friend speed off into the distance and if that hadn’t broken the metaphorical camel’s back, Fu-Han’s look of pure fear had. He seemed so displeased. The second Yulian had shown him the red ribbon tied around his wrist, the situation had gone downhill. It was almost as if he didn’t want to see him? How rude! Years of not talking and Fu-Han just runs away like that? Well, at least Yulian got the chinese boy’s cellphone. Lucky for him that his previous years of theivery had assisted him in taking it while the other was lost in thought. Unfortunately, he would have to return it later but that gave him an excuse to track Fu-Han down and talk. He placed the high tech phone into the pocket of his jacket and walked off.

He had about thirty minutes to make it to the minimart down the street to pick up his prized little sister. There wasn’t like there was any animosity between them, they actually have been through more than most siblings and have grown to be very close twins. But he still resented their parents for their clear favoritism of his younger half. No matter what she did, she was prized and it was purely because they acted differently. While Yulian was spray painting walls, his sister was painting mosaics. While Yulian was getting straight D’s, Sybil (although homeschooled) was already graduated. While Yulian got arrested twice already for...reasons that will not be discussed right now, Sybil was clean as a porcelain doll. She never did a single thing wrong or rather, she never got caught doing anything wrong. Yulian tsked loudly, crossing the dead street even though it wasn’t his time to cross. Wasn’t there a word for that? Ah, yes. Jaywalking. The albino came through the back alleyway leading to the open and usually busy intersection. The lack of cars only proved how late it was and so did the many night walkers. One woman in particular tried to approach but a simple glare from him made her rethink that action. Yulian crossed through the intersection, in no particular huff and made his way to the back end of the minimart where his ‘friends’ were. They were ‘friends’. If you count the fact that he only talked to them in order to intimidate cigarettes out of their hands. Free of charge of course. What did he look like? A bank? It was hard getting his cigarette fix nowadays since his most recent screw up with his previous High School. It wasn’t an accident, but it wasn’t on purpose either. And that alone had landed him on the bad list with his parents. They downright refused to feed his addiction purely because it was unhealthy and it costed money. Money, that could go to more important things. Sybil on the other hand couldn’t exactly dish them out at will and even if she could, she wouldn’t. She tends to mother him and belittle stupid things he does. Sybil claims that it’s because she cares about him to some degree. Yulian just thinks she likes hearing herself talk. Even if deep down he did appreciate her meddling. Yulian took an a long drag from his stolen prize and glanced up at the night sky. This night would have been nice if Fu-Han’s rudeness hadn’t harshed it. For lack of better terms, Yulian was extremely butthurt that his old best friend did that… They used to be so close. He exhaled the smoke right as the other members of his little gang retreated to another area due to a noise. He didn’t have to guess what it was either.

“How many times have I told you that smoking is bad? You are going to be catching your death, you know!” A feminine voice scolded next to him.

“Sestra, I have had a long day. Leave me be before Mama gets here.” Yulian hissed.

“What is not long for you? You whine about tiny things. So, what has your panties in a twist this time? Did you trip? Did the sun get in your eyes? Hm?” Sybil snipped back, standing a few feet away from him but leaning against the building.

“None of your business.” He blew out another thick cloud of smoke to accent his point. 

“Really, Yulian. It is clearly something. You are making the pouty face.” 

“Am not.”

“Are too.”

“Am not.” Another puff of smoke.

“Are too.” 

“Nyet.”

“Da~!” A small smirk.

“Jesus, woman! How old are you? Leave me be!” Yulian growled, throwing the cigarette to the ground and crushed the remaining ember with his boot.

“Fine. Be that way.” His sister shrugged, looking towards the street.

It was at this time, he finally glanced over at his sister. Another thing that his twin seemed to have over him was that she was...pretty. Even though they were basically mirror imaged, Yulian always saw her as the ‘looker’. She was full figured with extremely long silvery-white hair that reached her mid back. She had bright heterochromatic blue eyes that seemed to welcome rather than intimidate. Her nose was typically broad but didn’t take up her face like his did. She was often told that she resembled an angel in appearance. He did as well, until the person actually got past his appearance and saw his personality. Sybil also somehow got away from the ‘eyebrow gene’. Their mother’s family had some extremely thick eyebrows and he had been the unlucky reciprocant. They were thick, dark, and looked like damn caterpillars on his head. 

“Why are you staring?” His sister’s voice cut through his thoughts.

“Nyet. I am not staring.”

“Da, you are and I would appreciate if you didn-.” His sister was caught off bright a small green car pulling up right in front of them. The window rolled down, revealing their mother. Allison Barinova. She didn’t seem in a particularly bad mood but she was on the tiny headset, with a suspiciously calm voice. This wasn’t going to end well for either party. Or rather, the person on the other line better shape up before they get their egos wrecked.

“Brother~?” Sybil once again interrupted his thoughts.

“Hm? What now, pest?”

“Shotgun!” Sybil climbed into the front seat with a giant, shit-eating grin. 

“Chyort voz'mi!”

\--

 

Yulian woke up the next morning with the usual anger in his mind. His dreams were plagued with Fu-Han and Molly. Their previous friendship as children and their lives now with a few newer exceptions. His dreams liked to portray himself as some sort of evil. No matter the moment. No matter the situation. It always ended in nearly the same premise. With Yulian as prime candidate for the ‘bad guy’ role. And last night had proven that his mind had taken Fu-Han’s reaction last night like a blow to the chest. In his dreams, Molly seemed fine with him. She was glad to see him and would constantly be around him. They resumed their antics just like usual, like they had never moved away in the first place. Even though, he hasn’t seen Molly since he got back. She didn’t live in her old house and his father refused to even go near Al so he was shit out of luck. Fu-Han on the other hand refused to be around him. That expression of fear staining his face every single time Yulian talked to him. It was almost as if Fu-Han was a different person. Like he didn’t know how Yulian was and they had just began their odd friendship. But even back then, Fu never seemed afraid of him. The chinese boy always seemed intrigued if anything. This Fu-Han was new and unpredictable. The Russian didn’t like it. Not one bit. All he wanted was to stay in bed today and catch up on some much needed rest but he couldn’t. Yulian had to be on school on time and prove that he wasn’t a menace to society. His mother knew he wasn’t but the world seemed to shrug her off because of his lineage as a Russian.

The Russian sat up slowly. He better get up now or else he wasn’t going to be able to walk to school. Usually, he’d favor just getting a ride but he wanted to smoke a cigarette on his way there to ease himself. Certainly, couldn’t do that in his mom’s car. And of course, being albino made him light sensitive so it was better to get up during the dead of night than wait until the fiery death orb awakened from its own slumber. Yulian kicked off his blankets and made his way through his house to the bathroom shared with his sister. Fortunately, it was unoccupied by his twin and he easily got around to his morning routine. The entire thing seemed so mindless in its own way but it was strangely calming after the night he had. Before he knew it, he was already grabbing his lunch off the counter and heading towards the school. This was his first full day of dealing with this new school and he would have to be on his best behavior. Otherwise, he’d be expelled and literally no other school would take him unless he went back to Russia. That was not going to happen. Ever. 

Yulian pulled the cigarette package out of his coat pocket and held it in his hands. At first, he was glancing around to see if anyone else had woken up at this ungodly hour. So far, he only found a few cars idly driving to work and no familiar faces. There was a woman carrying a bundle of cleaning supplies and a bag on her shoulder while talking on the phone. She seemed exhausted with her hair messily falling out of its ponytail and dark circles forming clearly against her skin. He watched her walk to the bus stop and lean against it before he stopped watching her. Yulian finally pulled one of his beloved cancer sticks from the packaging, fiddling with his pockets for a lighter. He felt up his pockets until he realized that he didn’t have one on him. He groaned inwardly and fastened his pace towards the high school that was miraculously just another few blocks. If someone didn’t have a lighter, there was going to be Hell to pay.  
\--  
Yulian tsked as he reentered the building for what was now secondary lunch. He apparently already was supposed to be at a meeting with a tutor but this morning he couldn’t find a lighter. Probably because he was way too fucking early but he’s going to blame everyone else for being late. Yulian ended up not going to his meeting and immediately went out to get a lighter from the stoners on the hill. Luckily, there were a variety of lighters and one of them even let him take one of theirs. It was bright pink with a red lip print on it, but it would do until he got home. He crossed the back area of the cafeteria which was now being filled with other delinquents. Most of them went straight to the line to get some food while others were pushing past to get a table. As if the universe wanted him to be outed somehow, no one came near him. It was like one of those odd biblical references with parting of seas. Not that he minded, he wasn’t here to try and make friends. These people weren’t worth his time. The Russian walked up the grand staircase in the middle of the room and up into the hallway leading off to the side. It was narrow and the ceiling was barely half a foot above his head. At least he could make it through the doorway, unlike with his science class. 

Yulian kept on his way down the hall until he reached an closed door on the left. There was a little white paper that had ‘tutoring’ written in red ink with a smiley face. And that one little instance, led Yulian to believe he would not like this tutor. Who puts smiley faces on notes? That was as trivial as say, putting one on someone’s test when they did well. It literally did nothing for no one. He took a breath and opened the door before walking inside. He turned to shut the door behind him.

“Oh, you must be the new person that I’m tutoring. Hi!” An annoyingly sing-song voice caught his attention and he swung around to meet its owner with a scowl.

There stood a shorter girl. He was a full head taller than her, in fact, he towered over her. She wore an off-white scarf loosely around her neck. A decorated pink cardigan over a white button up, a light pink skirt, and dual colored pink leggings. Not anything special other than her weird obsession with pink. Her skin was sun-kissed as if she had been in the sun often despite it only being early spring. Her hair was braided into pigtails on either side of her head. She had freckles along her nose and dark blue eyes that seemed almost purple in their current lighting. And she had bright red glasses. This girl seemed like a goodie-two shoes. Though, there were literally no distinguishing features that would have made her abnormal. That is, until she smiled up at him. It seemed familiar, almost blindingly so. Her smile was bright, white, and almost movie star esque. It reminded him of someone. But who? Yulian searched through his memory to someone that fit the description. However, whoever this was had beat him to the punch.

“You look familiar.. I know you, don’t I? What’s your name?” She asked, cocking her head to the side in curiosity. 

Yulian allowed the scowl on his face to drop into shock for a mere moment before composing himself. His eyes trained on her but she seemed unaffected by him. Yes, this was definitely her. It had to be her. No one else could look at him with anything less than fear on a first encounter. Not even Fu-Han. “You did not tell me yours.”

“Oh...... right. I’m spacey today. My name is Molly. Molly Smith. What’s yours?”

He knew it. Yulian scrunched up his face, appearing disgusted. Whatever God was watching them was making this seem more and more like one of those ridiculous teen dramas. Fu-Han and Molly all in one week. Yulian is calling bullshit.

\--

Fu-Han could argue that last night was significantly one of the worst nights he's ever encountered. He had tried to return to his job as if nothing had even happened. As if Yulian hadn't just been thrust into his life for the second time in over almost a decade. As if life hadn't just thrown him a curveball..that he had ran away from with his tail between his legs. What bothered him the most about their encounter wasn't that it literally felt like it was out of some deranged korean television show but even worse, he didn't even get to react how he wanted. On reflex, his first thought was to deny the existence of his own long lost best friend and head for the hills. To run away without even a glance back or even a minor consideration as to how the other felt about the situation. In a matter of seconds, he had probably just pissed off Yulian and made an ass of himself. The Chinese male had gotten so frustrated that he just left without so much as a 'goodbye' to his mother. She tried to follow him, asking what was wrong and why he was leaving but received no answer. His entire being was just telling him to go home and sort itself out. So that's precisely what he did. He took Armo home, tucked him in with the usual promise of waking up early and telling the boy to stay off the computer past two am. Armo only shot him a look of complaint but instead asked him the question that Fu-Han didn't want to answer.  
"Fu? Who was that guy?"

Fu-Han stared at his younger brother from the doorway, shock evident on the sudden questioning but it soon returned to a forced smile.  
"It's nothing you need to worry about. Good night, Armo." And with that, he shut the sticker decorated door and trailed towards the kitchen. It wasn't as if he was hungry but he got the pulsing urge to just start cleaning. In fact, he cleaned the entire house (with an exception of Armo's room because that in itself would take a day.) and finished about three in the morning. Then he did all of his homework on the freshly cleaned coffee table in the living room which took another two hours to get through. Not because he was struggling with material but because he triple checked it even though he was devastatingly tired. Fu glanced at the clock hanging on the wall near the window. Five am. Another almost sleepless night if he didn't hurry to bed now. He made his way up the stairs with a mug of tea and low expectations of slumber. As he trailed to his room, he saw a light source from Armo's and opened the door. His younger brother was hanging halfway off the side of the bed in an upside down manner. His signature hat that he had taken from Fu when he was five laid on the ground, his hair was a fluffy mess, and he was softly snoring away. His precious laptop on the nightstand next to him playing some show with those odd japanese characters he adored so much. He believed they were called Magical girls. Fu squinted as the protagonist was having problems with what he assumed was her love interest at school. He never understood why people like that didn't just admit they liked the other and get it over with. The worst the other person could say is "No." The brunette rolled his eyes, setting his mug on the already overpopulated nightstand. Fu picked up the few loose papers, books, and other items that didn't belong in the bed whilst someone is sleeping and set them on the floor next to some other items. Then, he carefully rearranged Armo so the child was back sleeping on top of the bed and tucked into his pastel blue, star decorated bed sheets. He clicked on the computer to stop it from playing any further, shut it, and set the hat from the floor on top of it. The floor was littered in clothes, papers, and all other types of mess that Fu didn't feel like dealing with but at least his brother was comfortable enough to sleep.

"This is definitely enough for now. Goodnight, dìdì." He whispered, pressing a kiss to Armo's forehead. 

Fu quickly picked up the mug from the nightstand and made his way out, carefully shutting the door. He entered his room and sat on the bed, looking out the window. All seemed calm. No wind blew the trees against his window. No creatures running amok from where he was sitting. It was almost like their home back in Finland. Fu chuckled to himself and sipped the tea. Now that there was time to think, he needed to think about what to do with Yulian. He would be at Armo's school everyday and it's not like he could tell Yulian to stop looking after Armo. Armo needed the support and there wasn't enough time to start picking him up immediately after school. There was no way to avoid him but what do you say to someone you haven't seen in years? How do you even begin? Hi, Yulian. It's Fu-Han, want to continue being friends where we left off like nothing happened? No, that wouldn't work. They can't go back to being how they were. They were all young adults by now... He set the half empty mug onto his nightstand so he could lay back, staring at the ceiling. He had to do something but there was no telling how Yulian would react now. His vision slowly started blurring and he felt a long yawn form in his throat. 

Maybe the first thing they should do is just talk? Yea, that sounded like a good place to start. Maybe they could at least catch up for a few minutes when Fu picked up Armo. Actually, No. That wasn't a good idea. Yulian had become a delinquent and there was no telling what he could do now. He'd have to figure something out with Armo so he wouldn't stray down the same path but he knew one thing for certain. Yulian couldn't be his friend again. He wouldn't allow it. They would never get along as they are now. They're from two different worlds and that's how it should stay. Besides, Yulian wouldn't be there for long. He'd probably move in a few months. He yawned once again, leaning further into his pillows. Before he knew it, he drifted off into a dreamless sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's a little rushed, Jay. I'm trying ;7;....I promise chapter 4 is really where it gets down to business.


	4. The start of something new?

Fu-Han awoke to the sound of his speakers again. It felt like he barely got a lick of sleep but he knew he had to get up. He was much too lenient with himself the other day and he didn't want a repeat. Fu slowly leaned up, realizing he was still dressed in yesterday's clothes. He made a face of disgust and got up to go take a shower, on his way he grabbed a towel from the linen closet next to the bathroom. He had gone to bed at about five minutes to five last night which hadn't looked good but he gave an hour to sleep. Which means he could take a 10 minutes shower, go wake up Armo, get the kid to change clothes since he showered last night, speed down to make them both breakfast, make himself a nice container of coffee, and still make it with at least twenty minutes to spare. Go time.

Fu rushed into the shower, scrubbing himself with a fruity smelling wash that Armo insisted they both use for skin healing properties, then carefully detangling his hair and decided that for once he didn't care enough to braid it. Now that he thought about it, the wash was something that Armo always insisted on getting via in the internet. He downright refused to bathe the few days he didn't have it. Maybe it isn't fully the skin properties but instead something else? He really never knew when it came to the younger. What was that site he was always on? Timber? Timer? Tumbler? Either way, he really should start questioning the things his brother does. A small chuckle came from him, he knew very well he couldn't change Armo and questioning his madness never got him anywhere. Might as well just drop the idea. A little fruity smelling wash never killed anyone. He hopped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around his waist and brushing his bangs out of his eyes with a swift hand. Time to wake up Armo and get dressed. He walked down the hall to his brother's room, knocking twice.  
"KID. WAKE UP, ARU. WE DON'T HAVE TIME FOR THI-" The door swung open. Armo was looking groggy but was brushing his hair.

"Mitä!? Olen hereillä! Olen hereillä!" Armo hissed, trying to pull his hair into a ponytail. Well, this was a pleasant surprise? 

"Don't you 'What, I'm up!' me. You're never up this early. Why are you up so early? Are you dressing up, aru?" Fu questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Kyllä. Voisitko auttaa minua?"

"With what? Your hair?"

"Kyllä, kittos." Armo yawned, handing him the brush.

"Turn around." Fu waited for him to turn so that he could brush the other's hair back into neat, fluffy ponytail. He left a bit of fringe at the front so Armo could pin it like he tends to do when he's dressing up. "Done. Make sure you hurry, alright?"

"Kyllääää, Mama." Armo went back into his room, shutting the door with a kick.

"I'M NOT YOUR MOTHER, ARU!!"

"THEN DO NOT ACT IT."

Little shit. Fu rolled his eyes, going into his room to change. Today seemed like one of those days he didn't really feel like looking overly dressy but he still had an image to maintain. Besides, if Yue decided to pop up randomly while he was at school it could lead to a disaster. Like that one time freshman year she caught him changing into casual clothing. That woman threw such a fit, he ended up almost getting suspended under dress code violations. Honestly, that woman was a handful even without them living in the same house. He threw on a white button up, a red clip on bow tie, and some black slacks. He dried his hair with the towel and decided to throw it into a ponytail for the day. He didn't look awful but he didn't look his sunday best. It would have to do. It was his first outside day of gym was today and he was supposed to be painting in art class. It was going to be a messy day. His mother would like it better if he dressed like this everyday. Something plain, simple, didn't draw too much attention just like his elder brother. Rather than the usually brightly colored sweaters among other decorations that his father insisted he wore. Not that he minded wearing them, he liked them a lot but she disapproved. If Yue disapproved anything, you'd hear it until your brain went numb and that wasn't an exaggeration. Yue's voice could easily break the most heavy duty glass when she was shrieking with rage. He glanced at himself in the mirror and frowned deeply. Actually, he kind of looked like his brother dressed like this. The only missing piece was the glasses and his dust mask. Fu-Han frowned and decided to put his hair into a messy ponytail more towards the top of his head. It would be a fresh, sunny, and lovely day in Hell before he even allowed himself to look a fraction like his kiss ass of a brother. 

After giving himself a once over in the mirror and deciding to throw on a thin black sweater, he went downstairs to make them food. He glanced at the clock. He had ten minutes before they had to leave. Time really tends to fly but maybe he can start letting himself wake up around six. At least it's an extra hour of sleep which was something he desperately needed every night. Fu decided to make some breakfast sandwiches and made his coffee. About two minutes before they were supposed to leave, Armo came skipping down the steps and into the kitchen. As soon as the chinese caught the signature pastel bunny shirt, he knew Armo was deciding to be over the top. What did he call it? Haraju-something fashion? His hair was pinned with one of the little white star clip that their father had given him for his birthday. He wore pink right above the knee shorts to match his shirt, and bunny leggings with more star clips attached. And of course, the red beret that Armo stole from him was on his little head.

"When are you going to give me back my hat?" 

"When is the sun going to explode?" Armo smirked.

"You're the bane of my existence. I hope you realize that. You sure you want to go dressed like that?" Fu handed him a plastic carrier box full of the food he just made.

"But you love me so that is invalid! Yes! Do I not look cute?"

Fu-han poured his cup of coffee with a shrug. "You always look cute. I just don't want to hear it when you ruin another pair of leggings because YOU decided to play rough on the playground. And I'm not buying you more until next holiday."

"I won't!" Armo pouted, slinging his weeaboo bag over his shoulder.

"You said that last time with the kitten leggings." Fu pressed the container top onto his drink, slipped his food into his own bag, and put on his shoes. "Ready?"

"READY!" Armo slipped on his pastel pink sneakers. 

Fu-Han opened the door, letting his brother walk out before shutting and locking the door. They made their way to the car, getting in, and heading towards their schools. The overall drive was pretty peaceful and surprisingly without traffic. Today just was starting off well. For a moment, Fu-Han questioned how well of a guardian he was but Armo's freckled, beaming smile made any thoughts disappear. He wasn't the best guardian but he fed the kid, let him dressed how he pleased, and gave him all the encouragement he never got as a child. That seemed like enough for Armo and that made it enough for Fu.  
"So what's the special occasion, aru?"

"Someone I follow on tumblr had some very body positive things on their blog and it made me really happy." So that was the sites name. Tumbler. 

"O...Kay?" Fu-Han turned his head to look at Armo. All that because someone was being positive? Maybe he should put more mantras around their little apartment and maybe he should encourage Armo to dress up more. Anything to get the kid up on time and besides, he seemed happier whenever he got to dress up. He turned his head back to the road though he was clearly lost in thought. He really should see if their budget had any way for him to buy Armo a new sweater or something before holiday. Maybe he could ask Yue for an advance-

"FU-HAN! VARO!" Armo screamed.

"Watch out? For wha- Chědàn!!!" He slammed his foot on the break and managed to stop his car just in time. His hand reflexively went to the front of Armo's chest as if to stop him from flying forward if they had crashed. A familiar bright pink convertible cut into his view and parked ahead of him. This bitch. A little blonde girl hopped out of the back and another blonde got out to wave at her. The little girl simply waved and skipped across the grass towards the entrance of the of school. Kaitlyn and Claire Underwood. If Barbie and Kelly had human counterpart contests, this bitch and her sister would have won the award several times over.

"WEI! WATCH WHERE YOU'RE GOING WANNABE BARBIE!" Fu yelled out of his car window, sending her a glare. If looks could kill, he would need to be arrested for at least three cases of homicide.

She glanced back at him with a fake smile and bat of her perfect eyelashes. "Oh! Whoops! Sorry! You must have caught my blind spot!" Kaitlyn hopped back into her car with a cackle and sped down the street leaving behind a severely pissed Fu-Han. 

Fu groaned. "I would strangle that girl if murder wasn't illegal. Are you ok Armo?" He glanced at his brother who was honestly a bit more than frazzled. Poor boy was visibly shaking. 

"I-I'm ok! She is a bitch though! Who cuts someone off like that?!"

"Armo! Language, aru!" 

"Still doesn't make it right!" Armo argued back, crossing his arms. 

Fu just groaned again, head landing on the steering wheel. Well, today had almost started off right. "Just go to class. If you start to not feel well I'll have Father pick you up."

Armo sat in silence for a few moments as if to mull it over before nodding. He popped open the door and was about to hop out before he turned and gave Fu a quick hug to his side. Before he had a chance to return the gesture, the finn was already out of the car and about to shut the door.

"Drive safe, dummy." And the door was shut.

Fu stared in confusion before realizing he still had to get to class himself. He'd have to ask Armo what was that about later on that night. Fu sped off towards the school and into the parking lot. There were barely any parking spaces today and they didn't have assigned parking. Little Miss Diva was about to take a parking space near the center of the lot but because Fu was feeling vengeful for this morning, he tokyo drifted himself into the spot before she had a chance to even back up. Consider that payback for potentially causing his brother a panic attack and almost causing an accident. He climbed out of the car with his bag over his shoulder.

"Hey! That was MY spot, loser!" Kaitlyn flipped her blonde hair with a pout.

Fu-Han locked the door, placing his keys inside his bag then glanced over his shoulder with a mocking smile. He placed his pointer finger on the tip of his chin in thought and then bat his eyelashes just like she had only moments ago. "Whoops! Sorry! You must have caught my blind spot." He spoke in a high pitched valley girl tone before cackling and running off into the school just as the first bell to get to class rang. He could have sworn he still heard her screaming when he walked past the front door and into the halls.

\--

Two period over. Now it's time for gym class right before Lunch. He hoped he didn't sweat too much. That would be so gross and he'd need another shower which he hated doing at school. It was awkward as hell. He slipped into the boy's locker room to grab his clothes from his locker. 39...40...41...42. He stopped in front of his locker, taking out the key and unlocking the lock. He could have kept the normal number lock but he had enough to remember as it was. He didn't want to have to remember this combination so he switched out the locks...with permission of course. He grabbed his basketball shorts and giant white t-shirt and forced his messenger bag inside. He then made sure he had the key before locking the lock and sneaking off into one of the stalls. He didn't mind changing his shirt in front of others nor did he mind seeing other changing around him. It's just that he didn't like the idea of people seeing his thighs. Out of all of him, that's where his confidence slacked the most. He was a little too thick in the thighs and he hated it. It was from his Father's pudgier side of the family no doubt. None of his asian family had any issues with their thighs. They were all perfectly built to a T; model-esque in the very sense. Then there was him and his pudge that never left no matter what he did. The chinese scoffed lightly and changed into his gym clothes. Actually, he did have a small issue. Although he wasn't really attracted to any of the guys in his school he did tend to get a little more than lost when seeing how built some of them were. Especially the Jocks. It didn't exactly help that he wasn't the straightest individual either... And the last thing an actual fragile masculine, straight guy wants is some dude checking him out. Especially the dude that everyone was convinced was a chick until he had physically shown to not have boobs. Now they just assume Fu is gay. Not like he isn't (He doesn't really know what his sexuality is frankly)...but it isn't right of them to assume a man with long hair is automatically gay. It's rude. 

He walked out of the stalls and back to his locker, unlocking it and placing his other clothes inside. Then he once again locked the door and placed the key into his pocket. He followed all of the others outside, glancing at the greenery until they reached the track about five minutes later. Kaitlyn's boyfriend bumped mercilessly against his shoulder as they passed. Seriously, fuckboy? He barely let it stagger him and continued to walk with his head held high. The Coach, Mr. Lindenberg, suggested that they do stretches prior to doing the running challenge but most of the jocks just ignored him and continued talking to some of the girls. Rolling his eyes for the upteenth time, Fu began his stretched and getting ready to run. He already knew this was going to be difficult since his lungs were basically shit but he might as well try to get six. After about ten minutes, the coach set them all up into groups and set them off. The goal was to run around the track six times in twenty minutes. Every time you run past where the coach was, you grab a plastic stick from his hand. When you get six you can lounge around and do as you pleased. 

"On your mark. Get set. GO." Mr. Lindenberg blew the whistle and everyone shot off across the track. Ironically, Fu-Han held the lead with a few guys from the swim team until about the second lap. Then he fell back and was struggling to keep up with the group. By his fifth lap, he could feel his heart pounding against his rib cage. He could barely manage taking a breath each time he took a few steps. Everything was blurring together into a haze of white. His palms are sweaty, Knees weak, Arms SPAGHETTI....Wait, what? Fu-han blinked. One moment he was running, the next he was laying on the ground. The world slowly began coming back into focus and he immediately regretted being signed up for gym class. He slowly started sitting up when a hand held him back.

"Easy, mate. You don't wanna rush yaself." A thick accent came with the hand and he slowly focused on the person.

Brown eyes met a hazel-green. A reddish-brown haired man who appeared no older than twenty stared at him with a worried expression. One of the first things Fu-Han really noticed was his eyebrows. They were...very..very thick. They reminded him of someone but he couldn't remember offhand. His skin was slightly tanned from being outside and a little red. He might have been slightly sunburnt from the look of it. There was a band-aid across the center of his nose. Wow, he was kind of attractive and Fu-Han was clearly gawking. "You alright, mate?"

"Huh?" Fu-Han blinked.

"I said, you alright?" He man repeated himself, slowly allowing Fu to sit up and glance around. Mr. Lindenberg came over with a bottle of water and a frown. Though he never showed any other emotions, the chinese could have sworn he was worried as well.

"I...I'm ok. Just a bit dizzy. What happened, aru?" 

"You fainted." The mystery man held out his hand with a smile and Fu took it, warily. Once he stood up, he brushed himself off and glanced at the other students. A light pink blush started to show against his skin. How embarrassing... Quite a few trailed over to check if he was alright. The others stood from afar and Kaitlyn's group didn't even bother to look up from their spot on the benches. He knew damn well she didn't deserve that seat yet she managed to somehow get the required sticks at the end of their class every time they came out. It was irritating as hell. Buddha, he despised that girl. The mystery man wrapped his arm around Fu's waist and pulled him in close to lean on him.

"Come on. We've gotta get you to the Nurse." He said, dragging Fu along. That accent..Hm...Where was that from? It sounded vaguely familiar?

They were about halfway inside school when it clicked. "Australian..?" He mumbled.

"Hm?" 

"O-Oh. Sorry. Are you from Australia?" 

"Yep, I'm an Aussie! Born in the Outback, actually." He chuckled. "What gave it away? My accent?"

The Chinese chuckled lightly. "Oh, no. It was your eyebrows."

"...Seriously?"

"No...I'm just messing with you, aru. It was your accent."

"Oh, right!" The other chuckled, opening the door to the Nurse's office to let Fu in.

"I don't believe I've seen you around before..Mister.." Fu walked in, taking a seat on one of the chairs. The nurse was dealing with another person who was sprawled out on the bed. Whoever it was is in much worse shape than he is.

"No need for any Misters. The name's Jack. Jack Anderson." Jack reached over and gently ruffled the chinese's hair with a bright small. "What about you, lollies?"

Fu-Han couldn't stop the grin forming on his features. "My name is Fu-Han. It's nice to meet you."

\--  
It took nearly another twenty minutes before the nurse even glanced at him but during that time he talked to Jack. Jack excitedly told him about his home country and animatedly talked about how he was happy to move to Canada. Jack had graduated and wanted to see the world for what it really was. Even though he was only twenty-two. The aussie had left home and his family behind. He ended up being a substitute and soon ended up becoming a teaching assistant to Mr. Lindenberg. When Fu asked why he had never seen him before then, Jack had simply said he hadn't started until today. He talked about how it was always scorching hot in Australia and that one would have to get a bundle of sunblock. Then they talked about Fu-Han. Where he was from, why he was in Canada, etc. He even got a bit of surprise when Jack told him that Australia was inhabited by many chinese people and that he actually knew a bit of mandarin. Listening to a foreigner speak his language had him laughing until his sides hurt and left Jack laughing along as well. They seemed to get along very well.  
Once the Nurse got done with her other patient, she gave Fu-Han a once over and gave him his inhaler. She instructed him to drink plenty of water throughout the day and make sure that he strays from an physical activities for a while. She also told him that she would be speaking to the gym teacher to ensure that he wasn't allowed to over exert himself again. And with that and a note from her to his next class, Fu-Han had made his way back to the locker rooms. Jack had stayed with him the entire time to ensure he was safe and to make sure he didn't faint. He even was kind enough to wait for him to change and escorted him to the cafeteria.

"Later, lollies!" Jack called over his shoulder as he walked out of the double doors.

"Bye Jack!" Fu waved. What an interesting man--

A tray slammed down in front of him and a figure sat down across from where he was. Fu-Han was about to run when he laid eyes on his new seatmate but something from the glare he was received advised otherwise.

"Molly! Long time no see, aru." He put a bit of a forced smile, glancing between her and the tray.

"Well, technically, I just saw you a few days ago. But it's nice to see you Fu-Han." Molly smiled her classic movie star grin. "So, how are you?"

"Oh! I'm good!" 

"How's your brother? He's doing good too?"

"Never better." He kept up the fake smile.

"Good, Good. So. When were you going to tell me our best friend moved back into the country?" Her smiled stopped reaching her eyes which were cold and ice like. Damn it all.

"How long have you known, aru." He placed his forehead on the table, slumping.

"I knew the week he came back. My Papa told me he saw them moving in. You know he's been back for a while, right? Why haven't you been answering my phone calls or texts?"

"I've been busy." Fu-Han disregarded the comment about Yulian having been in country for a while, even though he was curious about how long exactly. 

"Clearly." She snapped, crossing her arms. "It takes two seconds, Fu-Han!"

"Ughhhhhhhhh. I'm sorry, ok? I just haven't been having much of a social life lately, aru." He groaned into the table, hoping the lame excuse would suffice. 

"Excuses, Excuses. So when are you going to see him?"

"How about never? Is that an option?"

"Fu-Han!" 

"What?!" He hissed, sitting up for a mere moment. All she had to do was give him a look and he was back to laying his head on the table. She never had to say anything to guilt trip him. Even when they were kids. "....I really don't want to see him, aru."

Her expression softened slightly and she began eating some of the carrot sticks off her tray. "Why not?"

"Molly...We aren't children anymore. What am I supposed to say to him? 'Oh, Hey. I missed you. By the way, I'm living with my brother because my parents are idiots and I have to sustain myself. We probably can't be friends since I literally have no time for anyone. I barely have enough time to breathe but you know what, let's still be friends, aru. It'll be just like when we were kids. We'll go back to Kids Town and run around! Life will go back to being simplistic and we'll pretend like we all didn't move away. We'll pretend like we're all still friends when we're not.'" He hissed.

"...You and I aren't friends?" Her voice held a tone of hurt.

"We are. But you know what I mean, Molly. I don't know him anymore. Why did he come back? Aren't your fathers still rivals?"

At the mention of her other father, Molly rolled her blue eyes. "I don't know nor do I care. But you need to talk to him. He hasn't changed as much as you think."

Fu-Han stayed silent for a few seconds before sighing audibly. She was going to find out eventually. "I already saw him."

"What? When?!"

"Yesterday...I sort of ran into him while picking up Armo." That was vague enough to not be a lie.

"Oh...Did you talk to him?"

"No. I ran away as soon as I realized it was him. And before you say anything, I know it was a dick move." He glanced up at her through his bangs and frowned. 

"Took the words right out of my mouth....You can say you're sorry the next time you see him."

"I'm not going to see him again."

Molly sighed, putting a hand under her glasses to pinch the bridge of her nose. "And why not."

"I don't want to go through the heartache again when I lose my best friend for the second time. You and I both know he won't stay in this country. Getting close to him now only means heartbreak for us." Fu-Han stood up, pulling his messenger bag over his shoulder and turning to leave. "Besides, I have enough problems in life. I don't need any of his."

"Fu-Han--" She stood up and grasped the sleeve of his sweater. Her voice was pleading with him.

"Enough, Molly. I'm going to class." He pulled away from her and started walking away. About a few steps away, he did look back over his shoulder at her and smiled. "Don't get yourself hurt because you're missing the good old days, Molly."

And with that, Fu-Han left the cafeteria. What he didn't see was Molly's expression as she held back tears.

\--

Fu-Han walked into the final period of today. Boy, was he happy this day was almost over with. He really couldn't wait until he graduated and got at least a fraction of this stress off his back. At least he had this class to express himself. He glanced around at the paint easels set up in a circle all around the room with fresh cups and brushes. It brought a smile to his face and he quickly set his messenger back down near the easel closest to the windows. Call him old fashioned but he loved to paint nature more than anything. Especially the sky. It was the only thing that never really changed. It was dependable. There wouldn't be a day that he would wake up and the sky would be white instead of blue. Or some other obnoxious or otherwise different color. He grabbed a few paints and waved to his teacher who was leaning back against his chair. The other Mr. Lindenberg. Mr. Farrell Lindenberg. Though he likes his students to call him Farrell. A small italian man who played music while they were painting and honestly one of his favorite teachers. He was always so full of life and often brought snacks for the class. And the best part was that he never really required anyone to do any tedious work. Even if you didn't get something done for the day, he'd just smile and give you a good grade with encouragement to try again the next time. He would never understand how the two Lindenbergs got together with how different they were but at least they were happy. It would be their sixth year of marriage that year and a celebration of twelve years together. Farrell wouldn't stop boasting about it, much to Mr. Lindenberg's embarrassment. 

Farrell waved back at him with another familiar grin and pressed play on his computer. Today's music was...Classical. Something he could work with as long as it wasn't rap music. But Farrell had to be fair and let everyone hear their music at some point. Fu set down his paint and grabbed a smock of the wall near the door. Today he was probably going to paint a cherry blossom tree for Armo. The kid always did love the painting he made and it would no doubt help with his moods. He tied his hair back and pinned his bangs back with bobby pins before starting on his project. Another thing he liked about this class was that Farrell let everyone take their projects home as soon as they were finished with them. (And after they were dry.) He didn't usually keep any of the artwork unless a student gave it to him or he wanted to enter one into an art show. Fu-Han's last painting had accidentally resembled North America. He remembers being angry that day and just splatting the paint on the easel just to get some frustration out. Ironically enough, that painting had gotten an award because Farrell insisted on entering it in the country wide contest. He got first place and boy, had it irritated him that something he didn't even like got such high regards. But, what could he do?

He glanced at the reference on his phone for a moment before sliding the paint brush across the paper. He focused on making even stroke and let his mood guide itself into his painting of the tree. For once, he felt at peace and almost in a tranquil nirvana... That is until someone put their hand not so gently on his arm to grab his attention. The chinese practically jumped out of his skin before growling angrily at whoever had interrupted him. Though he didn't turn around to face them.

"What do you want, aru?"

"I do not know where to get the paint. Teacher told me to ask you." A familiar thick accent caught his attention. Fu-Han's brown eyes widened with fear as he slowly went to face the other. Immediately, he wished he hadn't. Yulian stood above him with intense heterochromatic eyes and a subtle smirk. Fu-Han knew it was his equivalent to a shit eating grin.

"Oh, shit. You again."

"Da, Me again."

Boy, Life really liked to fuck him up, didn't it?

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave reviews! I'd like to know your criticisms. This is mainly a story written for my group of friends but I am hoping to use it as a means of improvement! Thank you! Postings will come as fast as I can get the inspiration to write the chapters.


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